Bill Graham Presents
Poster
1969 (designed)
1969 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The Fillmore in San Francisco is a historic music venue, named after its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard. Known as the Fillmore Auditorium in the mid-1960s, concert promoter Bill Graham began a series of concerts featuring bands from the counterculture of the time. In 1968, due to his spiralling success, he moved to a larger venue which he named Fillmore West. Having closed in 1971, and after extensive repair work to fix earthquake damage, Graham's venue was revived when Live Nation reopened the original Fillmore venue in 1994.
San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!"
The creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics when the venue shut in the summer of 1971.
This poster advertised a line-up headlined by Joe Cocker, an English blues rock musician and singer, most known for his gritty voice and cover versions of popular songs. Also playing on the bill was Little Richard, a singer, songwriter and pianist, key to the transition from rhythmn and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s, with his frantic piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals. Rounding off the bill was The Move, a British rock band formed in 1966, associated with the Psychedelic scene and originally featuring Roy Wood, Carl Wayne, Chris Kefford and Trevor Burton. Like The Who, The Move specialised in 'auto-destruction', smashing items onstage and burning effigies.
San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!"
The creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics when the venue shut in the summer of 1971.
This poster advertised a line-up headlined by Joe Cocker, an English blues rock musician and singer, most known for his gritty voice and cover versions of popular songs. Also playing on the bill was Little Richard, a singer, songwriter and pianist, key to the transition from rhythmn and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s, with his frantic piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals. Rounding off the bill was The Move, a British rock band formed in 1966, associated with the Psychedelic scene and originally featuring Roy Wood, Carl Wayne, Chris Kefford and Trevor Burton. Like The Who, The Move specialised in 'auto-destruction', smashing items onstage and burning effigies.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Bill Graham Presents (named collection) |
Materials and techniques | Lithography on card stock |
Brief description | Poster advertising Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, Little Richard and The Move at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, 16 to 19 October 1969. |
Physical description | Poster advertising Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, Little Richard and The Move at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, 16 to 19 October 1969. Red and black print on white background: text on left and right hand sides, and surreal photographic collage centre. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Given by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum |
Object history | Transferred as part of a collection from the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York, in 1985. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | The Fillmore in San Francisco is a historic music venue, named after its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard. Known as the Fillmore Auditorium in the mid-1960s, concert promoter Bill Graham began a series of concerts featuring bands from the counterculture of the time. In 1968, due to his spiralling success, he moved to a larger venue which he named Fillmore West. Having closed in 1971, and after extensive repair work to fix earthquake damage, Graham's venue was revived when Live Nation reopened the original Fillmore venue in 1994. San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!" The creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics when the venue shut in the summer of 1971. This poster advertised a line-up headlined by Joe Cocker, an English blues rock musician and singer, most known for his gritty voice and cover versions of popular songs. Also playing on the bill was Little Richard, a singer, songwriter and pianist, key to the transition from rhythmn and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s, with his frantic piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals. Rounding off the bill was The Move, a British rock band formed in 1966, associated with the Psychedelic scene and originally featuring Roy Wood, Carl Wayne, Chris Kefford and Trevor Burton. Like The Who, The Move specialised in 'auto-destruction', smashing items onstage and burning effigies. |
Bibliographic references |
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Other number | BG 196 - Bill Graham's numbering system |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.1259-2010 |
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Record created | November 10, 2010 |
Record URL |
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